It’s that time of year for spin from World Growth International

Regular Mongabay readers are probably familiar with World Growth International, the non-for-profit (*) advocate for industrial forestry that masquerades as a poverty alleviation organization. World Growth is headed by Alan Oxley, a lobbyist who served as Australian Ambassador to the GATT, the predecessor of the World Trade Organization, during the late 1980s. Oxley also heads ITS Global, which provides advisory and marketing services...

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The Wall Street Journal needs to fact-check its anti-Lacey Act rant
Nov26

The Wall Street Journal needs to fact-check its anti-Lacey Act rant

On Friday the Wall Street Journal carried an anti-Lacey Act rant by Kim Strassel. The post contained the usual talking points pushed by Gibson Guitar Corp and the Tea Party groups that have turned its alleged illegal activities a cause-célèbre for anti-regulation types. But is also contained errors. First, the Environmental Investigation Agency is not a “murky British green outfit” but an NGO registered in both the U.S....

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Does boreal deforestation help slow global warming?
Nov23

Does boreal deforestation help slow global warming?

A big fuss is being made about a new study published in Nature that suggests clearing of forests north of 45 degrees latitude cools climate — the opposite effect of deforestation in the tropics. But the findings aren’t much of a surprise — the same conclusions were reached in papers published in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In fact the same story seems to come out around this time — late November to early December...

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RSPO meeting convenes in Malaysia
Nov21

RSPO meeting convenes in Malaysia

In a few hours the 9th annual meeting of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) [and 8th annual General Assembly] opens in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. There are several important issues to be discussed at the meeting, including recent grievances filed against a several RSPO members, greenhouse gas emissions accounting, and mechanisms for better incorporating small holders into the body. Mongabay.com is a media partner for the...

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Reactivating the blog
Nov21

Reactivating the blog

The mongabay blog has been silent for the past three months but we’re going to make an effort to return to semi-regular updates. Expect to see more short commentaries that don’t really fit the format of the news section, photo posts, and guest posts.

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